Bernie Sanders noted that the 2018-midterm elections would be pivotal in our country’s history.
Following his unsuccessful bid for the 2016 presidential nomination, Sanders has used his popular influence to champion issues such as healthcare, raising the minimum wage, corporate influence on the electoral process and legalizing marijuana, which Sanders endorses.
“We are spending $80 billion locking people up. Think about what it would mean if we invested that money in our people instead of more jails,” said Sanders in a Live Facebook Discussion with Corey Booker, Democrat from New Jersey, who introduced the Marijuana Justice Act earlier this year.
Sanders slammed Attorney General Jeff Sessions for rescinding the Obama-era Cole Memo, giving states leeway to respect legalized medical and recreational marijuana.
“Marijuana is not the same as heroin. No one who has seriously studied the issue believes that marijuana should be classified as a Schedule 1 drug beside killer drugs like heroin,” Sanders said. “Quite the contrary. We should allow states the right to move toward the decriminalization of marijuana, not reverse the progress that has been made in recent years.”
Sanders, named to a leadership position among Senate Democrats after the 2016 elections, has maintained a high national profile since then.
Some polls show Sanders to be the most popular politician in the country. He has become a familiar face on TV news shows, commenting on the latest developments in Washington and vociferously criticizing Trump.
“We have a president who is not only a pathological liar but someone who is trying to win votes by dividing our nation up based on the color of our skin, our country of origin, our religion, our gender or our sexual orientation,” said Sanders. “Further, and dangerously, he is undermining our democratic institutions as he attempts to move us toward an authoritarian type society.”
Bernie Sanders is the longest-serving independent in congressional history.
